Bury a Friend | Hemlock Grove |

Chapter 26 | Closest to Me |

Emma's throat burns and is raw. The back of her nose stings and breathing is still painful. She can't lift her head, it feels like its weight has tripled. Using all her strength, she forces her eyes open. The curtains are drawn and letting in only minimal light. It provides her with some relief.

There's several texts on her phone and missed calls. She opens Peter's first.

Text me when you wake up.

Is Roman still there?

When did Roman leave last night?

Call me.

Emma squints her eyes. Roman was here? She doesn't remember that. She doesn't remember getting home. She only remembers being cold and the darkness. And the pain. After hitting the call button, the phone only rings once before it's picked up. "What's going on?" Emma asks and soon as she hears the other line.

"When did Roman leave-"

"I don't even remember him being here. What's happening?"

"There was an accident, Em," he sighs.

"What?"

"Apparently after he left your house last night he went home and I guess he uh- he overdosed." Emma feels her stomach sink to her feet. "He's in a coma right now."

"Is he..." she trails off.

"He's stable," Peter tells her. She can hear the sadness in his voice, the struggle to stay steady and strong.

"Okay."

"I'm gonna go see him if you want to come," Peter offers. Emma thinks it over for a minute. It feels like she should, but they're not friends. They're rarely even civil with one another.

"Just let me know how things are." They say their goodbyes and hang up.

Moving down to her next text message. It's just a thumbs up from Ally. She quirks her eyebrows trying to recall what might have happened last night. Scrolling up, she finds a plethora of worried texts that she doesn't remember reading. She must have read them, though. The best excuse she can come up with is still a pretty shitty one.

Hey. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Honestly, I was having a bad day and decided to have a drink and I went a little too far. Everything's okay, and I'm really sorry.

Ok.

She feels guilty lying after having already scared her friend. But it's not like she could tell her what truly happened, that she let people drown her the night before. More than that, she feels guilty over worrying her friends so much. Had she been that strange? Emma doesn't remember acting strange.

Maybe her behavior had been a little unusual, she could acknowledge that. Or maybe they could see things she couldn't. It's hard to recognize that you're not acting like yourself, because to you are yourself.

Dying and being brought back to life takes a lot out of you. She sleeps most of the day away, after getting out of bed and moving to the floor first. When she wakes up, it's to the sound of her phone buzzing. Peter gives her the update that Roman is still stable and he's home. Olivia had demanded he be treated at the mansion instead of the tower. Over protective as always.

She doesn't get up until it's time to cook dinner. There's no way she'll make it though anything that requires too much attention, but she can't not cook dinner. Throwing together something that could be called a casserole she sits down, out of breath.She messages her temples in an attempt to satiate the monster thumping inside.